IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSR-JBM)

e-ISSN: 2278-487X, p-ISSN: 2319–7668

Consumer’s Purchase Intentions for E-Grocery Shopping in India

Himanshu Budhiraja1, Kanav Mittal2
1 ,2
(Research Scholar, Chitkara Business School, Rajpura, India)

ABSTRACT: Online grocery business is at emerging stage in India. Online retailers need to analyze different
factors that affect consumers purchase intentions towards online grocery shopping. It is also observed that buying
behavior of consumers for online grocery shopping is totally different than buying from physical markets. Online
grocery model fulfills consumers’ need and help them to save their time and effort. The purpose of this paper is to
throw a light on different types of e commerce models. The paper also tries to understand the demographic profile of
the customers who groceries through online mode, reason to purchase groceries online and satisfaction level of
customers buying groceries online.

Keywords- E-grocery, Models, Consumers, Shopping.

I. INTRODUCTION
Food and grocery is the basic daily need of any household. Online grocery business is at emerging stage in
India. This kind of model has gained popularity in tier one cities like Delhi and Mumbai, but still it is a long way to
go. As of now people in India are not much familiar with this kind of model.People in the country prefer buying
items like groceries, fruits and vegetables by physical comparison of price and quality. In this type of culture
prevailing in the country, it is very difficult to make this kind of model popular in Indian markets, but on the other
side other e- commerce businesses are gaining much popularity in the Indian markets and e-commerce grocery
industry is in its introductory phase .So, this presents a great opportunity for any firm to enter the e-grocery space.
[1]Grocerye-tailing in India is a largely unorganized space and poses a big challenge in terms of stiff entry
barriers. The traditional methods of inventory and logistics management call for intense cash-burning - a business
condition most of the bootstrapped Indian start-ups fail to meet. [2]is of the view that living alone, away from
family, is a tough task. Other than that, one has to take care ofeveryday domestic hassles.Tiring 12 hour shifts in the
office and transportation distress that leave you feeling so exhausted that the prospect of cooking seems like torture.
In such a scenario, it is difficult for young Indian professionals to shop for grocery.With the current mushrooming of
online grocery portals on the digital medium, one might wonder upon the feasibility of these ventures.[3] points out
that Current e-grocery model are based on the consumer making his or her purchase over the Internet, and the e-
grocer delivering the purchase to the household. However, there are numerous opportunities for innovative new
services. Analyzes the opportunities offered by bar code and radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to
develop a new type of e-grocery related service, namely vendor-managed inventory (VMI) in the household.The
home delivery transportation service is one of the critical resources to the success orfailure of the e-grocery
business. In order toturn e-grocery and home delivery service intoa profitable business, the e-grocers have
tounderstand the variables affecting the coststructures of the different service concepts [4]. Ultimately, the future of
online grocery shopping seems extremely secure. Like any good business idea, a need had been identified and
amplified. Indian online grocery shoppers have found buying grocery online convenient, comfortable and hassle-
free. Given the pace of life, smartphone penetration and ease of use they offer, it will be a long time before these
online grocery platforms can call it a day[2].Online grocery stores are gaining popularity in India due to sheer
convenience, ease of shopping and a fast-growing market. Globally, online grocery retail is growing nearly 7 times
faster than on-ground formats and the Indian market may soon catch up.[1] The Indian retail industry is estimated to
be worth over $500 billion (one of the world's top 5 markets) and 30-40% of the businesses will be in the online
retail space over the next 7 years. This presents a great opportunity for any form of e-tailing, especially the e-

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IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSR-JBM)
e-ISSN: 2278-487X, p-ISSN: 2319–7668

grocery. As of now, grocery e-tailing in India is a largely unorganised space and poses a big challenge in terms of
stiff entry barriers.

1.1 E GROCERY BUSINESS MODEL

[5] Identified five different e-grocery business models: the integrated model, the third party shipper model,
the delivery-only model, the drop-shipping model, and the multi-channel model.

Model I: Five different e-grocery business models

These five broad business models are applicable to e-grocery and e-tailing. These business models are not
exclusive of each other and can be implemented jointly or over time. Success or failure of each company will likely
depend on the details of implementation of each model, [5].

II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

[4]Success or failure of e-grocery business depends much on timely home delivery transportation. In order
to run the business of e-grocery into profits, the e-grocers needs to put the efforts to understand the variables that
affects the cost structure of various service concepts. The simulation results show that e-grocery home delivery

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IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSR-JBM)
e-ISSN: 2278-487X, p-ISSN: 2319–7668

service can actually be as much as 43 per cent cheaper compared to the current costs of customers visiting the store
using their own car and spare time. Therefor it is a firm argument in favor of prediction that states the rapid growth
of e-grocery business.
India is experiencing a great success of internet usage from last decade which leads to mostly progress in
business usage.[6] Research has been undertaken in many aspects of e-business and e-tailing but not in how a
developing country looks to develop e-grocery.The main aim of the research is to discover the intention of consumer
for shopping of grocery products online.
In India women holds more than 25% of white collar jobs in various sectors. [7]Now day’s professional
women are hardworking and those days are no more where women go to market place to buy the groceries. With the
emerging trend of internet usage online shopping has become more convenient for especially those women who
cannot spare their time to go to purchase daily need items personally.
[8]Discover factors that influence the adoption of buying online grocery by two-step process.In first step
exploratory qualitative research is conducted in order to gain the in depth knowledge of buying behaviour of
groceries online by consumers. Secondly, large scale quantitative was carried out to confirm the role of situational
factors in agitating the begin of online grocery buying. Both qualitative and quantitative results set up the
importance of situational factors, for e.g. if there is baby or if there is health problems that can trigger to buy
groceries online. Many shoppers tend to discontinue online grocery shopping when the first trigger has become
extinct or they have any issue with service. While situational factors are beyond the marketer’s control, they could
be used as a foundation for marketing communications content and target advertising. The importance of situational
factors as triggers for the adoption of online grocery shopping suggests irregular adoption process i.e. carried by
situations rather than by a cognitive elaboration and decision. The adoption of online shopping seems to be
contingent and may be discontinued when the initiating circumstances change.
The study by [9]examined the perceptions and preferences of Malaysian consumers towards online grocery
shopping. It is also examines three (3) important factors in online grocery shopping; cost and charges, time
availability and convenience of online grocery shopping, which will contribute to the impact of online grocery
shopping. Sample of population for this study were consumers who had some experience in online food retailing,
particularly online grocery shopping and also those who have not yet to use internet to purchase grocery products.
Result of the study showed that Malaysian consumers were disagreeing on the extra cost and charges of online
grocery shopping charged by the online grocers. The same feeling they expressed on the time availability that they
have and also the timeused to navigate the online pages.
This study by[10]proposes a new simple model to describe the factors that influence the intention to use
internet for food shopping. The results of the study depicts that there are some important variables that affect
consumers online purchase attention for e-grocery and these factors are: safety feeling (insecurity affects negatively
the intention to use e-shops), comfort (the greater comfort positively influences the intention to use e-shops), access
(ease of access positively affects intention to use e-shops) and product selection (better choice positively affects
intention to use e-shops for food shopping). The main way of food shopping is still by far the traditional stores.
However it seems that the choice of internet shopping is an increasing trend. Especially at ages from 15 to 45 years,
middle-income, educated consumers who have completed or are going to complete higher education, online food
shopping was reported in the research and the intention to use it was observed in a higher level.

III. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE

The objective of the research rises from the problem statement, giving specific idea, and achievable goals.
The objective of the above research is to study the customers intentions while buying groceries through online.

IV. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The methodology of the study is based on the secondary as well as primary data. The primary data is
collected through a structured questionnaire to elicit the well-considered opinions of the respondents. The
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IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSR-JBM)
e-ISSN: 2278-487X, p-ISSN: 2319–7668

questionnaire was designed to take collective feedback from regular customers who buy groceries through online.
The data is collected from 60 respondents who were highly involved in E-grocery shopping. The data is collected
from respondents residing in Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula, Ambala, Patiala. Descriptive statistics technique is
used to analyze the data with the help of statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS – 20).
• Secondary sources- Routine feedback calls with the customers at Sabkuchfresh.com in my internship.
• Primary Data – Questionnaire survey in which responses were gathered by regular customers.

V. RESULTS AND INTERPRETATIONS

Table I. Demographic Profile of Respondents
Demographic Profile Code Response

Gender
Male 1 33
Female 2 27
Total 60
Age
18-30 1 26
31-45 2 23
More than 45 3 11
Total 60
YearlyHousehold Income
< 2Lac 1 05
2lakh-5 Lac 2 20
>5Lac 3 35
Total 60
Occupation
Service 1 42
Business 2 10
Any Other 3 08
Total 60

40 34 32
35
30
25
20 Number of people
15
10 5 3 4 5
5
0
Low prices Better Easy Saves time/ Money Back Complaint
quality Acessbility Fast Delivery Guarantee option

Fig. 1. Basic reasons for E-grocery Shopping

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IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSR-JBM)
e-ISSN: 2278-487X, p-ISSN: 2319–7668

Out of 60 people most of the people prefer buying fruits and vegetables because of easy accessibility and
saving of time.
40 34
30 26

20
Number of people
10

0
Yes No

Fig. 2: Satisfaction level towards Quality of products purchased online

Out of 60 people 34 people were satisfied with the products of sabkuchfresh whereas 26 people have
problem with the quality of products.
40 35
35
30 25
25
20
15 Number of people
10
5
0
Yes No

Fig. 3: Receiving your order in chosen delivery slot

Out of 60 customers 25 customers didn’t received their order in the mentioned Delivery slot. So the firms
in the industry need to improve their delivery process so that Order must be delivered between the given slots.

60 54
50
40
30
20 Number of people
10 6
0
Yes No

Fig. 4: Customer satisfaction with the packaging of products purchased online. Out of 60 majority of 54 customers
were satisfied with the packaging of the products.

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IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSR-JBM)
e-ISSN: 2278-487X, p-ISSN: 2319–7668

60 54
50
40
30
Number of people
20
10 6
0
Yes No

Fig. 5: Recommending online grocery shopping to your family & friends

Majority of the customer responded yes which shows a positive WOM promotion for the industry.

VI. CONCLUSION
Online grocery industry is one of the growing industries in India. This particular business model is more
popular amongst the people in service profession followed by business class and people retired. The paper
strategically analyzed the Indian online grocery Industry. The results of the study depicts that the model is more
popular amongst the working women followed by men. The study further reveals that the major reason for
purchasing groceries online is saving of time and effort, on average customers for this model are satisfied with the
quality of the products received by them, also the sellers are providing customers with option of replacement. The
study also depicts the expectation of a customer while buying groceries online and in physical market is totally
different. The problem that lies in this model is of delay in scheduled delivery, non-availability of products due to
some unavoidable conditions.

REFERENCES
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[2] http://www.iamwire.com/2015/07/future-online-grocery-shopping-india/119976
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